


Getaway Car

by LooNeyTooNey



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - No Exy (All For The Game), Inspired by Baby Driver, M/M, The Perfect Court (All For The Game), aftg, the foxhole court - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-28 09:07:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30137223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LooNeyTooNey/pseuds/LooNeyTooNey
Summary: (Drawing Prompt on Tumblr)Neil had always hated driving. Ever since he watched his mother burn in a car, he never wanted to drive one again. But he had no choice. Not when the debt he owed was worth his life.-'You must like some sort of cake,''Never had it.''That's illegal. Here, eat this.''But that's your fork.''I know.'
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard
Kudos: 20





	1. 1-An Introduction To A Mess

"Hey!" He snapped out of his dream by the voice shouting at him. His eyes watched the angry man as he glowered at him. Neil pulled out one of his headphones, letting it hang down on the string it was attached to. The song continued playing in his other ear. "Are you listening? Why do you have those headphones in? And why are you wearing sunglasses inside?" The man was angry, but Neil didn't answer him. He never did. The man pulled off Neil's sunglasses and he winced at the light, but when the man turned around, Neil just pulled out a second pair from his pocket.

"Hey," Riko said. He was the leader of this operation. Riko had superiors, but he and his uncle were the ones Neil was indebted to. His life depended on their need for him. Once he'd paid back the money he stole or their need of him ended - whichever came first - Neil was gone. He didn't like driving. But he didn't have a choice. "Why don't you lay off the kid, huh? He may not look like much, but he's the best driver I've ever had." Riko looked directly at Neil then. His black eyes bore into Neil's face like he could see the blue behind the glasses. "Why don't you go get some coffee, huh?" Riko didn't say 'Get _us_ some coffee' but it was implied. Neil's answer was standing up and leaving the warehouse.

Hep put his headphones back in as he walked down the street, listening to 80's classics as he went. Dodging people was easy, as Neil was small in both height and personality. He hid inside himself, not showing his abilities to the rest of the world. He hadn't been to school since he was thirteen - he was now eighteen, almost nineteen - but Neil had a talent for languages and driving really fast. It was how Riko had picked him up; Neil had stolen a car that belonged to Riko's uncle, and in retaliation, the man killed Neil's mother, burning her body in the car to show Neil it wasn't the _thing_ that he'd cared about, it was the fact that Neil had been able to take it right from under his nose.

Neil went to the same coffee place he did every day and ordered four standard, medium sized drinks. If the team didn't like it, they could get their own coffee, but no one ever complained. Neil thought they were afraid; his family was no secret in whatever fucked up world Neil lived in. He was surprised when Riko came in three days ago with this man who wasn't bothered to yell in Neil's face, as though he wouldn't fight back - he was right, of course; Neil had never fought anyone because they'd insulted him, only occasionally insulted them back.

The job was always different yet somehow always the same; Neil would drive the car to the scene, wait for the crime to be committed, and then drive away. He never got caught, because he was just that good. He'd started driving when he was eight years old, long before his feet could reach the pedals properly - his father added blocks onto the pedals so that he could touch them and push down hard enough to get the hell out of wherever they were. Then Neil's mother had been killed and Neil never wanted to look at a car again, let alone drive one, but he didn't have a choice. At least he was almost free of his debt to the Moriyamas. He'd be able to live his life freely after two more jobs and get out of the city. Neil thought he'd go to the countryside, where he could ride horses around all day and never have to see cars again. He'd live on a farm and care for the animals. He didn't care how unrealistic it sounded - that's what dreams were supposed to be, unrealistic.

"You did good today, kid," Riko said as he handed Neil his bag of money. Neil stood in front of Riko, almost the same height and even closer in age. He didn't like when people called him 'kid'. Purely because he'd been through too much to even experience a childhood. He hardly knew what the word meant. "One more job, and then we're even." Neil nodded, added a 'Yes, sir' because he didn't want to be seen as rude, and waited for Riko to head off in his new car before he headed to his own.

Neil had a roommate; Matt Boyd. He was mostly deaf, but that didn't stop him from annoying Neil. It was a fun kind of annoying, though, because Neil knew Matt wasn't doing it to make him feel inferior, only to make him smile. To make him laugh. Neil had learned ASL to communicate easily with Matt, and the two often got into stupid arguments in the sign. It was quite funny for Matt's girlfriend, Dan Wilds, to walk in on. She knew ASL too, but would only laugh - not that Matt could hear her - when she saw the two boys in a silent disagreement.

When Neil got home that afternoon, Matt was sitting in front of the television, sound on, with no subtitles. Neil rolled his eyes and stashed his money under the floorboards, away from Matt's line of sight. Neil picked up the remote and turned on the subtitles and made the volume quiet so the neighbours wouldn't complain. Matt turned when the words at the bottom of the screen flicked on, and smiled at Neil. ' _You're deaf, not incapable of walking_ ,' Neil signed. Matt's smile only grew. ' _And lazy, apparently_ ,' He added. 

"That's true," Dan said from the hallway. She approached Neil with a smile and a hug - the two were friendly enough, but Neil still didn't like _too_ much company - and headed over to Matt on the sofa. She folded perfectly against his side, and Matt wrapped a long arm around her shoulders. Neil wouldn't admit it, but he'd often thought about what it would be like to have something like Matt and Dan's relationship. But deep inside he knew he'd never be emotionally available enough for anyone, nor did he especially want one. Relationships just didn't appeal to Neil the same way it did everyone else he'd ever met in his life. 

"I'm going out," Neil said to Dan, who nodded and returned to Matt's company. Neil slipped out of the door again, pulling on his sunglasses and plugging in his headphones. Neil shoved his hands in his pockets and began walking down the street. He wanted to run. Wanted to get out of there - out of the city, out of his miserable life - but he forced himself to stay at a steady pace and explored the town he'd lived in for the past five nearly six years. 

Neil entered a diner he didn't usually go to and sat down in a booth. He'd picked up a menu on his way in and put his glasses next to him on the table. Neil read over the menu, though he was probably only going to get a drink - coffee. He pulled out one of his headphones in anticipation of a server asking for his order, and heard someone humming an unfamiliar song under their breath. Neil's attention was immediately drawn to the bar where a short blonde wiped down the bench at the front. He didn't have headphones in - he knew the song by memory. Neil could probably recall some songs like that, too, but he preferred the beat blasting into his ears. It helped him concentrate. He preferred it.

As if by sensing Neil's gaze on him, the blonde stopped humming and cleaning and glanced up through his lashes at Neil. His breath hitched and he looked away, down at the laminated menu he'd begun peeling the corners of. Neil tried to focus and sighed in relief when he heard the humming start up again, but still jumped when a voice asked, "What can I get for you?" He looked up to see the blonde standing in front of him, a bored expression on his face. Neil quickly looked down to the badge on his chest, stating that his name was Aaron, then back to his face. 

"Uh, just a coffee," Neil said distractedly. The humming was still in his brain - was it really happening, or was he just reliving a few seconds on repeat? Aaron wrote that down on his notepad and turned away. Neil looked up at the sound of a crash and saw that there was still a blonde at the bench. Aaron walked away from Neil, heading towards the kitchens. So Aaron wasn't the one Neil had made eye contact with. He wasn't the one humming the song. Neil itched to ask his name, but remained in his seat, peeling the menu until another waiter returned with his coffee. This man smiled too brightly and had a nametag that read Nicky. He complimented Neil on his appearance, though he was wearing some of the worse clothes he owned - Matt and Dan got on his case about his clothing style all the time, Neil didn't need a complete stranger doing the same.

Neil drank his coffee in silence with only the sound of his own music in his ears and then left the amount on the table along with a tip and walked out of the diner. As he passed the front bench, the blonde looked up from a magazine he was reading and watched Neil with a look of indifference on his features. Neil stared back until he opened the door and walked outside. It was like a fresh breath of air. He'd felt cramped and like someone was constantly watching him, which, he supposed, someone always was. If not Neil's own family, then the Moriyamas. Riko. Tetsuji. 

Then Neil ran. He put his sunglasses in his pocket and his headphones in his ears, and he ran. Ran and ran until he couldn't feel his legs anymore and it was too dark to see. Neil headed home and entered the apartment quietly. Though it wouldn't matter to Matt, Neil didn't know if Dan was staying the night again - it seemed she spent more nights at the boys' apartment than her own. He headed for his room and collapsed on the bed, taking his glasses out of his pocket and placing them on the table next to his bed. Neil had turned on the heater as he'd entered his room and took off his jacket and jeans, not bothering to fold them as he pulled on a large sweater he slept in and his sweatpants.

Neil calmed and relaxed, letting the tension out of his muscles as he closed his eyes. Music still played into his mind, helping Neil sleep. He was used to the noise, and it kept his mind off things he didn't want to think about, like the red of his father's hair that matched his own when it wasn't dyed, or the blue eyes under the contacts Neil wore every day when he didn't have his sunglasses on. Neil didn't dream. He had nightmares, but those didn't count. They were bad dreams, and Neil didn't think of them as such. They were just nightmares; inconveniences, disturbing, memories of past trauma - but not dreams. Neil would never think of the visions he saw in his sleep as dreams.

On many occasions he saw his mother. _No_ , Neil reminded himself. _His mother's_ body. He remembered how it had stuck to the leather seats and how after the flames had died down and Tetsuji had let him go to the car, the skin had peeled off, leaving parts of his mother behind. Neil had stepped back from the car, horrified of what his mother had become - a shell of what she used to be; a body, being burned long after death - and tried to run. Tetsuji hadn't let him. He'd taken Neil by the shoulders, crouched in front of him, and explained what Neil owed him. Tetsuji had squeezed Neil's shoulders until he begun to cry from the fingernails biting into his skin.

The next day, Neil returned to the same diner, subconsciously wishing to see who he assumed was Aaron's twin brother - they looked so alike, there was no other alternative in Neil's mind. He sat down at the bench in the front, took out one headphone and placed his sunglasses in his pocket. Looking around, he saw that there was next to no one in the diner, and the same went for the staff. Neil took out the tubes of sweetener and sugar and organised them into groups depending on type of packaging, and then type of enhancer, and then a hand was placed on top of the piles and Neil looked up.

Hazel eyes met brown and Neil was speechless. He normally didn't speak, but being this close to the hummer was slightly disorienting. This close, Neil could see the frown lines on his face, and the way his blonde hair was parted on the side. It was natural. Three piercings lined the man's left earlobe, with two and a helix on the right. Neil swallowed and asked for a coffee. The blonde said nothing as he disappeared to make the drink. Neil had also caught sight of a name; Andrew. It seemed fitting. Neil didn't know why he thought that, or what similarities this man would have to the name Andrew, but he knew this blonde was the definition of the word. 

Returning with Neil's drink, Andrew hung around the counter. Eventually, Neil spoke up, his voice sounding different to how it usually did. "What's that song?" He asked. Andrew turned, momentarily pausing his actions, and plucked a napkin out of the holder. He pulled a pen out of his front pocket and wrote something on the napkin, passing it to Neil and returning to his duties. Neil took the napkin and read what it said. Then his eyes flicked down to something on the bottom corner. A group of numbers. Neil looked up to Andrew, who had resumed cleaning. A phone number. Neil carefully folded the napkin and put it in his pocket, fishing out his sunglasses. He put those on his face and put the money he owed on the table beneath the cup saucer.

Neil had left a note of his own for Andrew to see when he cleaned up as Neil left; I don't have a phone. It was technically the truth - Neil had a pager than only Riko or Tetsuji could contact - and Neil figured he'd be returning to the diner the next day. In fact, he was almost certain of it.


	2. 2 - A Date With A Mess (Pt 1)

Andrew knew trust was wrong. Especially when he was trusting a complete stranger. But then, didn't everyone start off as strangers? He just couldn't find it in him to completely ignore the stranger who walked into Sweetie's and drank nothing but coffee. He didn't know his name, but Andrew knew he would find out. He had to. There was a pull inside of him that told him things were fine. He could trust him. But he still felt betrayed by his mind when he wrote down the landline number and gave it to him. He felt even worse when his reply was 'I don't have a phone'.

But he returned the next day, and the next, asking for nothing but coffee. Andrew couldn't help but think he was returning for him, but he continued to ignore him and hum under his breath - he didn't know how to talk to him. Unsurprisingly, Nicky had to be a loudmouthed idiot, and asked the stranger his name, working out in Andrew's favour, after all. His name was Neil. Neil. Andrew guessed it fit alright. He didn't imagine the name Neil while looking at the brown haired disaster who always wore his sunglasses inside, but who was Andrew to judge?

"Excuse me," Neil said, getting Andrew's attention - as if he hadn't been paying attention to everything he'd been doing since he walked through the doors. "What kind of desserts do you have?" Andrew twisted and grabbed a menu, passing it to Neil. He pointed out the cakes, and the scones, and everything else they served, telling Neil what they were like; Andrew had tasted them all at some point. "Thank you, I'll get some of the carrot cake, I'm pretty sure my roommate likes that." 

"And for you?" Andrew asked. "Do you want anything for you?" Neil shook his head, placing the menu on the table and beginning to peel away the laminated corners. Andrew's eyes fixated on Neil's fingers. So he was the one ruining the menus.

"I don't like cake," Neil said. "Well, I haven't actually ever had any, so I don't really know if I do, but I assume not. Too sweet." Andrew wanted to slap Neil then. Never had cake? What kind of messed up life did Neil have? Neil looked up at Andrew and smiled tightly. "I'll just get a slice of carrot cake. Thanks, Andrew." Andrew's heart began to race, wondering how Neil knew his name, before remembering the tag on his uniform stating what his name was to everyone who entered the diner.

"I can't believe you've never had cake before," Andrew said, shaking his head as he headed to the cabinet and got out one slice of carrot cake. He paused, and took out a slice of dark chocolate he'd made earlier. Andrew placed both slices in front of Neil and got him a paper bag and a fork. "I just want the carrot cake, man," Neil said, placing it carefully in the bag. Andrew handed him the fork. Neil sighed and took it reluctantly. "I've never had cake."

"That's illegal,"

"I don't want it."

"Just eat the cake, Neil."

Neil did. He took a small piece off the end and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. It slowed even more when he looked down at the cake. "It's good, right?" Andrew asked. Neil swallowed and looked up at Andrew with a small smile on his face. Andrew hoped he wasn't blushing. He'd never trusted this hard before. Never had anyone _to_ trust this much. He hoped Neil wouldn't break it. Andrew didn't even know what he was trusting Neil with, but it was important. 

"Okay," Neil said slowly, taking another bite of the cake. "Maybe I'll get a slice of this." Andrew smiled a little. He couldn't really remember the last time he'd done that for real, not just as a customer service smile. Andrew got out another piece and a bag for Neil to put the cake in and put both in front of him. "Thanks," He put the cake into the bag and continued eating the other piece.

"So, what do you do for a living?" Andrew asked. They'd started a conversation, and Andrew was trying to keep momentum. He wanted to learn as much as he could of this man before he inevitably lost him to the world just like everyone before Nicky and Aaron. "And why are you always listening to music?" He pointed to the headphone in Neil's ear, the other one dangling down in front of him.

"I drive," Neil said in between bites. _A man of very few words_ , Andrew thought. _That's fine_. "I was in an accident when I was younger," Neil continued. He looked down at the cake to avoid eye contact. _Shit_ , Andrew thought, _I'm losing him_. "It helps me focus. Blocks out the other sounds. The distracting ones." Andrew nodded silently. "And you? How'd you end up here?"

"It's a funny story," Andrew started. It wasn't funny, it was actually quite depressing, but he'd save Neil the details. "Nicky and Aaron are my family, but I only met them a few years ago." Neil raised an eyebrow, but Andrew wouldn't explain. It didn't matter how much he was trusting Neil at the moment, he wouldn't share anything other than that. Andrew suspected Neil was also hiding a secret. But he wasn't a mind reader, and didn't know what it was.

"Andrew! I need help back here!" Nicky yelled from the kitchen. He sighed and rolled his eyes, holding out a finger to Neil, showing him they weren't finished speaking, and headed back to where his cousin was probably burning something. "I don't know what happened, it just started doing...that!" Nicky said. Andrew looked at the scene; the dishwasher was overflowing with bubbles and shaking a lot. Andrew looked at his cousin who was staring at the appliance in shock. _I can't believe he couldn't deal with this himself._

"Oh my god, Nicky," Andrew muttered before heading over to the dishwasher and kicking it a few times, which seemed to calm it down. "Call the repairman or something," Andrew said. He was annoyed. Neil could have left by now. Andrew stood and turned on his cousin, who was fishing his phone out of his pocket. "And don't bother me with this again." Andrew sighed as he left the kitchen. He looked around; Neil had left while he was gone. There was a note on the bench where he'd been sitting, though, and Andrew picked it up.

"Who's that from?" Aaron asked, approaching Andrew. He crumpled up the note and glared at his twin. Aaron rolled his eyes and walked around him on his way to the kitchen.

"Nicky fucked up the dishwasher again," Andrew called after him in German. Aaron groaned and kicked his way into the kitchen. Andrew then turned to the piece of paper he was clutching and opened it slowly, pressing it flat on the table.

**Meet me at Eden's at eight?**

Andrew's heart fluttered. _What the fuck?_ He thought. He didn't do that. He didn't _feel_ like that. Not ever before, at least. Andrew stuffed the note into his jeans pocket and put the money in the till, probably fucking up the system in the process. _Fuck_. He felt like _that_.


	3. 3 - A Date With A Mess (Pt 2)

Neil waited at the bar, hoping Andrew would come. He had no idea if he would show - why would he? He hardly even knew Neil - but with every passing minute Neil felt his heart sink lower into his stomach. By half past eight Neil figured he'd been stood up and put down his drink. Roland - the only bartender Neil trusted not to spike his drinks - came over and tried to pour Neil another. "Not tonight, Roland." Roland shrugged and headed back down the bar to another customer.

"Why not? I would hate to show up only for my date to leave me," Neil heard and snapped his head to the left. Andrew leaned against the bar, signaling for Roland to come back. "Some whiskey shots, thanks Roland." He nodded and headed off to get the drinks. Andrew turned his gaze back to Neil, who was stunned into silence. He was a little angry - Andrew had showed up extremely late, and Neil worked solely on timetables and scheduling - but ultimately happy that Andrew had decided to come.

"You're late," Neil said eventually.

"I got off work late, you can't blame me."

"Fair enough." Neil said as Roland placed the drinks in front of him and Andrew. He took one and so did Andrew. They threw them back and Neil winced. He didn't like whiskey. "So," Neil was awkward. He'd only ever been on about one other date before, and that was nothing like this; for starters, the venue had been different because Neil had been fifteen. "How are you?"

"That's a ridiculous question," Andrew said, taking a second shot. "I hope you understand that." Neil shrugged. "Work was terrible. I had to deal with angry customers and ones who had never had cake before." He looked at Neil with an incredulous expression on his face. "Can you believe that?"

"How disrespectful," Neil played along. "I hope you made them sorry." Andrew hummed, though Neil could hardly hear it over the loud music.

"I did. I forced him to try some, and he ended up loving it," Andrew said, taking the third and final shot on the bench in front of him. "How about that?"

"How about it," Neil said quietly. He wasn't even sure if Andrew had heard, him but that was alright. "Sorry. My roommate tells me to get out more - well, signs at me to; he's deaf - but I usually don't because I'm so bad at talking to people."

"That's fine," Andrew said, looking directly into Neil's eyes. He didn't smile, though. Neil had known Andrew for a few days, and had never once seen him smile. Andrew leaned in close to Neil's ear, sending a tingling feeling up his arms, standing his hairs on end. "So am I," He whispered. Neil sat straighter as his eyes watched Andrew's slow movements as he returned to his seat, looking at Neil, too. There was something about Andrew that was different. Different than anyone Neil had ever met. He wasn't nice, but there was something comforting about his company. He didn't speak much, but the silence wasn't awkward. Neil had never kissed anyone before, but he wished Andrew would.

They talked and drank for a few hours before Andrew said he had to leave. "I have to open the diner in the morning." Andrew took something out of his pocket and placed it on the bar between them. Neil watched his movements. "That's for you - I loaded my number in it so you can call me." Andrew paused, watching Neil for a moment. "I'll see you around, Neil Josten." Then he stood and left Neil watching the seat he'd been sitting at.

Neil stuck around for a few more minutes, turning over the phone in his hand. Had Andrew really bought Neil a phone? They hardly even knew each other, it was a bit of an elaborate gift. Someone sat down in the seat beside Neil, and he looked, hopeful that Andrew had returned. His stomach flipped when he saw who it was, though; Tetsuji Moriyama.

"Sir," Neil said. He was scared and confused at why he was here; Neil had payed off his debt to the Moriyamas on his last job. "What are you doing here?" Tetsuji waited until there was a drink in his hand to respond to Neil. He didn't look at him, only spoke, and it rattled Neil's bones. He wanted to run.

"He's a nice boy," Tetsuji said. Neil was confused at first, then realised he was meaning Andrew. He feared for the other man's life, knowing Tetsuji had the means to take Andrew out and make his family seem like it was some sort of accident. Only Neil would know the truth, and he'd be haunted with it forever. "I need you to do another job." Neil's stomach sunk. He was done. He was getting out. Out to the country, out of the city. _Not anymore_ , he thought, _you don't have a choice_. "Make the right choice, Neil. Riko will see you on Monday." Tetsuji placed his drink on the bar and stood, leaving. He'd never even looked at Neil, but the threat he'd issued was very much real.

Neil eventually staggered home at around midnight. _I don't want to do this. I don't want to do it anymore_. But it was either his father killing him or Tetsuji, and Neil didn't think he'd be able to watch as a face so similar to his own cut into his flesh and carved organs and muscles out. The Butcher knew what he was doing. He would make sure Neil survived until he wanted him dead. Neil stumbled over to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet bowl. He began sobbing, not in control of himself. _What is wrong with you?_ Neil's mother's words echoed through his mind. _Get up, you_ _son of a bastard, and run_. Neil continued to vomit into the toilet and sob until his chest hurt. _I can't run anymore, I'm sorry_. _I can't do it this time. I'm so sorry_.

Dan wasn't in the apartment, and Matt couldn't hear him, and Neil would be forever grateful, because the embarrassment he felt even when nobody was around to see or hear him was so great that he began crying harder. Tears and snot and vomit mixed in the toilet and Neil collapsed right there, unable to hold himself up anymore. He closed his eyes. _Maybe this is for the best_ , he thought. But he wasn't dying. He was just tired. Tired of running. Tired of driving. Tired of living like this. _It's my last job, and then I'm gone. I won't put up with their shit anymore, mom. Just one more job. I promise_. Neil knew promises usually didn't mean shit, but he would disappear whether the Moriyamas liked it or not. 


End file.
